chilled to the bone

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

"Hmm. That's a lot of words for saying you just don't want to," Maea teased him gently. "Which is perfectly alright. I just think you'd be really good at it." And a good deal more pleasant to work with than Sunjata, at least for her. But then again, nothing said she had to join that shady guild. Or talk to the Flood more than necessary, even if she did.

The offer to teach her was a little surprising, but it brought on a little grin that suggested she was far from displeased. "You would do that? I think... yeah. I think I'd like that very much." He offered her the bottle back, and Maea was glad for the distraction that let her hide away a smile that was perhaps a little too happy, considering what the lessons were all about. She worked at the cork to get the bottle open, and after some wriggling it came off with a hollow pop followed by the faintest trace of scent that reminded her of overripe apples, fallen leaves and water-logged soil. If she could pick up on it at all, it must be rather pungent indeed to normal noses.

The frosted glasses had her quirk a brow up. "Show-off," she accused with a faint smile, as she divvied up the remnants of the bottle between them and set the empty bottle aside. Taking one of the glasses, Maea raised it to her nose and sniffed, then looked up at Neron. "This is where one should make a toast, right? But I don't really know what to say..." That she was grateful? That the past kept haunting her, but the future didn't feel quite as daunting as before? That it really meant a lot to be treated like a friend by someone she really didn't know that well yet... Ah, it was all too much, and way too embarrassing to simply blurt out like this.

So she just extended her glass to him, so that the clink of glass might fill the silence and speak for her instead. Maybe it was enough to convey the important bits.

Maea

Neron

the wind breathes lonely
longing to be seen

"Stick around me long enough and you will find I can do that with most sentiments," Neron says with a wink; again, lawyer. Give him a simple statement and he can spin it into a narrative as flowery or as cutting as you like. Ask him for a straight answer? Not so easy. "Thank you, though. I appreciate the support in my non-leadership endeavour."

Nodding, their deal sealed, Neron holds out the glasses for her to fill them with cider that certainly tangs the air, even for an Ascended's sensibilities. "If ever there were a drink that could get us drunk, I believe this might come close," he remarks, only to flash a fanged smirk as he's called a show off. "Just a barman," he retorts.

He waits for her toast with an air of quiet expectation, but when nothing comes, their glasses clink and echo in the empty bar, leaving silence in its wake. "Best toast I've heard for a while," Neron drawls, sipping at his cider. "I always find them dreadfully long."

sometimes the soul
has days like these

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

"You are quite welcome. Free of charge - this time." Maea poked her tongue out at him, emboldened by the banter that reminded her so much of her favorite brother. It eased her, relaxed her enough that as glasses clinked together and the distant flavor of apples and rain and overripeness filled her mouth, the final bit of tension drained away.

"It's all or nothing with me, I'm afraid," she replied dryly, incredibly relieved that she'd kept her thoughts to herself. "You may want to decide quickly whether to put up with oversharing or not. 'Cause once I determine you to be a good listener... boy, it'll be a ride." Leaning back to let the edge of the counter cut into her spine, Maea swirled the contents of her glass. Torn between sipping it slowly to savor every last drop, or simply gulping it down so she could get back to work.

Everything, or nothing at all. So drastic. Why was she incapable of doing anything in moderation?

"Maybe pungency is the way to go, for a new liquor brand. Maximize flavor until only we can drink it without doing permanent damage." The quick flash of a grin was a little toothy and almost wicked. It felt terrible... so terrible to feel good about being different, sometimes.

Maea

Neron

the wind breathes lonely
longing to be seen

"Ah, an entrepreneurial spirit lives in you," Neron quips back. "I can see having you help out here was definitely a good decision." He sips again at the cider, enjoying the taste he's able to make out, though he has no doubt that it would be unpalatable to anyone else trying to drink it. "And I could never have owned and worked in a bar for this long without being able to put up with oversharing," he points out. "Believe me, I've heard it all." The good, the bad, the ugly, the deep and dark and wicked, Neron's been a fly on the wall for it.

Raising his eyebrows and opting to knock the cider back rather than savour it, Neron sets his glass down and considers her proposal as he alters a few things on their stock sheet to account for their findings thus far. "Well, it's either that or we stop offering liquor to Ascended who drink here," he says, almost as a throwaway comment.

sometimes the soul
has days like these